< Ezekiel 33 >
1 A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord was maad to me,
2 “Son of man, tell your people: If I brought an army to attack a country, the people there would choose one of them to be their watchman.
and he seide, Thou, sone of man, speke to the sones of thi puple, and thou schalt seie to hem, A lond whanne Y bringe in a swerd on it, and the puple of the lond takith o man of hise laste men, and makith hym aspiere on hym,
3 When he saw the army advancing to attack the country, he would blow the trumpet to warn everyone.
and he seeth a swerd comynge on the lond, and sowneth with a clarioun, and tellith to the puple,
4 So if you hear the trumpet but don't pay attention to the warning, and you're killed in the attack, you will be responsible for your own death.
forsothe a man that herith, who euer he is, the sowne of the clarioun, and kepith not him silf, and the swerd cometh, and takith hym awei, the blood of hym schal be on the heed of hym.
5 Since you heard the trumpet but didn't pay attention to the warning, then you will be responsible for your own death. If you had paid attention the warning, you could have saved your life.
He herde the sown of the clarioun, and kepte not hym silf, his blood schal be in hym; forsothe if he kepith hym silf, he schal saue his lijf.
6 But if the watchman saw the attack coming and didn't blow the trumpet to warn everyone, and someone is killed, then that person will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their death.
That if the aspiere seeth a swerd comynge, and sowneth not with a clarioun, and the puple kepith not hym silf, and the swerd cometh, and takith awei a man of hem, sotheli he is takun in his wickidnesse; but Y schal seke the blood of hym of the hond of the aspiere.
7 Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for the people of Israel. Listen to what I tell you and warn them for me.
And, thou, sone of man, Y yaf thee aspiere to the hous of Israel; therfor thou schalt here of my mouth a word, and schalt telle to hem of me.
8 If I tell the wicked ‘You're wicked; you're going to die’; but you don't warn them to change what they're doing, then they'll die in their sins and I will hold your responsible for their deaths.
If whanne Y seie to the wickid man, Thou, wickid man, schalt die bi deth, thou spekist not, that the wickid man kepe hym silf fro his weie, thilke wickid man schal die in his wickidnesse, but Y schal seke his blood of thin hond.
9 But if you warn the wicked to change what they're doing, and they don't, they will die in their sins, but you will save your own life.
Forsothe if whanne thou tellist to the wickid man, that he be conuertid fro his weies, he is not conuertid fro his weie, he schal die in his wickidnesse; certis thou hast delyuered thi soule.
10 Son of man, tell the people of Israel that this is what they've been saying, ‘We recognize our sins and wrongs, and they weigh on us, wearing us out. How can we go on living?’
Therfore thou, sone of man, seie to the hous of Israel, Thus ye spaken, seiynge, Oure wickidnessis and oure synnes ben on vs, and we failen in tho; hou therfor moun we lyue? seie thou to hem,
11 Tell them: As I live, declares the Lord God, it brings me no pleasure when wicked people die. I wish they would stop sinning and live! Stop! Stop sinning! Why should you die, people of Israel?
Y lyue, seith the Lord God, Y nyle the deth of the wickid man, but that the wickid man be conuertid fro his weie, and lyue; be ye conuertid fro youre worste weies, and whi schulen ye die, the hous of Israel?
12 So, son of man, tell your people: All the good things a good person has done won't save them when they sin; while the bad things a bad person has done won't be a problem for them if they stop sinning. But good people won't live if they start sinning.
Therfor thou, sone of man, seie to the sones of thi puple, The riytfulnesse of a riytful man schal not delyuere hym, in whateuer dai he doith synne; and the wickidnesse of a wickid man schal not anoye him, in what euere dai he is conuertid fro his wickidnesse; and a iust man schal not mowe lyue in his riytfulnesse, in what euer dai he doith synne.
13 If I tell a good person that they will live and then they rely on their goodness and start sinning, then none of the good things they did will be remembered; he will die because of the sins.
Also if Y seie to a iust man, that he schal lyue bi lijf, and he tristith in his riytfulnesse, and doith wickidnesse, alle his riytfulnessis schulen be youun to foryetyng, and in his wickidnesse which he wrouyte, in that he schal die.
14 But if I tell a bad person, ‘You're going to die’ and they stop sinning and do what is good and right,
Forsothe if Y seie to the wickid man, Thou schalt die bi deth, and he doith penaunce for his synne, and doith dom and riytfulnesse,
15 if they return security given for a loan, pay back what they've stolen, and follows my laws about how to live, not doing wrong—then they will live; they won't die.
and if thilke wickid man restorith a wed, and yeldith raueyn, and goith in comaundementis of lijf, and doith not ony vniust thing, he schal lyue bi lijf, and schal not die.
16 None of their sins will be remembered; they have done what is good and right and so they will live.
Alle hise synnes which he synnede, schulen not be arettid to hym; he dide doom and riytfulnesse, he schal lyue bi lijf.
17 However, your people are complaining, ‘What the Lord does isn't right.’ But it's what they're doing that isn't right.
And the sones of thi puple seiden, The weie of the Lord is not euene weiyte; and the weie of hem is vniust.
18 If a good person stops doing good and sins, they will die because of it.
For whanne a iust man goith awei fro his riytfulnesse, and doith wickidnessis, he schal die in tho;
19 On the other hand, if a bad person turns from their sins and they do what is good and right, they will live as a result.
and whanne a wickid man goith awei fro his wickidnesse, and doith dom and riytfulnes, he schal lyue in tho.
20 So how can you say, ‘What the Lord does isn't right’? Well, I'm going to judge each of you depending on what you've done, people of Israel.”
And ye seien, The weie of the Lord is not riytful. Y schal deme ech man bi hise weies of you, the hous of Israel.
21 On the fifth day of the tenth month of the twelfth year of our exile, a refugee who'd escaped from Jerusalem arrived and told me, “The city has been captured!”
And it was doon in the tweluethe yeer, in the tenthe monethe, in the fyuethe dai of the monethe of our passyng ouer, he that fledde fro Jerusalem cam to me, and seide, The citee is distried.
22 The previous evening before the messenger arrived the Lord had touched me so I could speak again. This was before the man came to see me in the morning. I wasn't mute any longer—I could speak again.
Forsothe the hond of the Lord was maad to me in the euentid, bifore that he cam that fledde, and he openyde my mouth, til he cam to me eerli; and whanne my mouth was openyd, Y was no more stille.
23 A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord was maad to me, and he seide,
24 “Son of man, people living among the ruins in Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, but the country was given to him to own. There's plenty of us, so the country should belong to us.’
Thou, sone of man, thei that dwellen in `thingis in poynt to falle doun on the erthe of Israel, seien, spekynge, Abraham was oon, and bi eritage he hadde the lond in possessioun; forsothe we ben manye, the lond is youun to vs in to possessioun.
25 So tell them that this is what the Lord God says: You eat meat with the blood still in it. You go and worship your idols. You commit murder. Do you really think the country should belong to you?
Therfor thou schalt seie to hem, The Lord God seith these thingis, Whether ye that eten in blood, and reisen youre iyen to youre vnclennessis, and scheden blood, schulen haue in possessioun the lond bi eritage?
26 You rely on your swords to get your way. You have done some disgusting things. You're all having sex with each other's wives. Should the country belong to you?
Ye stoden in youre swerdis, ye diden youre abhomynaciouns, and ech man defoulide the wijf of his neiybore; and schulen ye welde the lond bi eritage?
27 Tell them that this is what the Lord God says: As I live, in the people living among the ruins will be killed by the sword. Those living in the countryside will be eaten by wild animals. Those living in the fortresses and caves will die from disease.
Thou schalt seie these thingis to hem, Thus seith the Lord God, Y lyue, for thei that dwellen in `thingis redi to falle doun, schulen falle doun bi swerd, and he that is in the feld, schal be youun to beestis to be deuourid; but thei that ben in stronge holdis and in dennes, schulen die bi pestilence.
28 I will turn the country into a wasteland, and power you are so proud of will be ended. The mountains of Israel will become wild places that no one will want to travel through.
And Y schal yyue the lond in to wildirnesse, and in to desert, and the pryde and strengthe therof schal faile; and the hillis of Israel schulen be maad desolat, for noon is that schal passe bi tho.
29 Then the people will acknowledge that I am the Lord, when I have turned the country into a wasteland because of all the disgusting things they have done.
And thei schulen wite, that Y am the Lord, whanne Y schal yyue her lond desolat and desert, for alle her abhomynaciouns whiche thei wrouyten.
30 Son of man, your people are talking about you out in the streets and in the doorways of their houses. They encourage one another, saying, ‘Come on! Let's go and hear a message from the Lord!’
And thou, sone of man, the sones of thi puple that speken of thee bisidis wallis, and in the doris of housis, and seien, oon to an other, a man to his neiybore, and speken, Come ye, and here we, what is the word goynge out fro the Lord;
31 So my people come and visit you like they usually do. They sit and listen to the message you share, but they don't do anything about it. Even though they talk about love, all they're thinking about is how to cheat others.
and thei comen to thee, as if my puple entrith, and my puple sitten bifore thee, and thei heren thi wordis, and doon not tho; for thei turnen tho in to the song of her mouth, and her herte sueth her auerice;
32 In fact, to them you're just someone who sings love songs with a lovely voice and who is a fine musician. They listen to the message you share, but they don't do anything about it.
and it is to hem as a song of musik, which is songun bi soft and swete sown; and thei heren thi wordis, and thei doon not tho;
33 So when what you say does happen (and it will), then they will realize that they did have a prophet among them.”
and whanne that that is bifore seide cometh, for lo! it cometh, thanne thei schulen wite, that `profetis weren among hem.